Teaser Tuesday (7th of August, 2012)

It's a new month, and a new National Year of Reading theme. This month, the theme is QUESTION, which means we gotta look at the detective novel, and that in turn means we gotta look at Chandler, whose presence in the genre is undisputed. (Plus, I'm a huge fan of The Big Sleep.)

"Common sense says go home and forget it, no money coming in. Common sense always speaks too late. Common sense is the guy who tells you you ought to have had your brakes relined last week before you smashed a front end this week."

- Playback, by Raymond Chandler.

About the book:

The final completed book featuring iconic detective Philip Marlowe, Playback begins with a belligerent phone call at half-past six in the morning, and in classic Marlowe style, quickly develops into a nest of lies, murder, and a woman holding at least half of the deck of cards.

About the author:

Raymond Thornton Chandler (July 23, 1888 – March 26, 1959) was an American novelist and screenwriter. In 1932, at age forty-four, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in 1933 in Black Mask, a popular pulp magazine. His first novel, The Big Sleep, was published in 1939. In addition to his short stories, Chandler published just seven full novels during his lifetime (though an eighth in progress at his death was completed by Robert B. Parker). All but "Playback" have been realized into motion pictures, some several times. In the year before he died, he was elected president of the Mystery Writers of America. He died on March 26, 1959, in La Jolla, California. — From Wikipedia

Find a copy:

• Playback is available at UTS Library's city campus at 813.5 CHAP.

About Teaser Tuesdays:

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly book meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading! Everyone is welcome to play!

How it works:

1. Grab a book from your collection

2. Select 2 sentences (yes, we cheat, but so did Marlowe) that make an interesting teaser (avoid spoilers please!)

3. Post the sentences, along with author and book title in the comments of this post

This month's reading theme is QUESTION which comes courtesy of the National Year of Reading 2012 program!